A fierce national and state election season has taken a nasty edge as campaign signs on the Southern Kenai Peninsula have been cut down, pushed over and stolen. Republican, Democratic and independent signs have all been trashed.

All the campaigns have reported vandalism. District 6 Republican Party Chairman George Hall provided a photo of a large Yes on 2 sign near Ninilchik removed from its frame. Other Yes on 2 signs have been trashed, he wrote in an email. Another group of signs for Republican Party candidates Dan S. Sullivan, Heath Smith and Sarah Vance got pushed down on the Sterling Highway north of Homer, near Kalifornsky Beach Road.

“All up and down the Sterling throughout District 6 (Kalifornsky Beach Road is the northern limit) candidate signs have been damaged/destroyed or removed,” Hall wrote.

In the Homer area, signs on Diamond Ridge Road and Fernwood Drive off East End Road have been targeted, said Paul Seaton, a political organizer with the Moderates and Progressives Together office in Homer.

Over the past month, vandals have persistently hit a group of signs on west Diamond Ridge Road that includes a large campaign sign for U.S. Congress candidate Bill Hill and U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola. Seaton said that after people in the neighborhood complained about the signs being too close to the road, they were moved back.

“And then somebody came along and broke it down, broke the legs, and so then we went and put it back up and put it up better,” said Seaton, a former state representative for Homer.

Seaton tacked a copy of the U.S. Constitution to the sign with the First Amendment highlighted, but the signs got targeted again. On Oct. 8 someone knocked down the big sign. It was repaired, with little U.S. flags attached. Then  last Saturday night someone broke a leg of the big sign, but though tilted, it still stood, Seaton said.

A large 4-foot by 4-foot sign and supporting structure on Fernwood Drive also got taken, Seaton said. He replaced it with a new sign attached to a crab pot.

“They don’t blow over very easy, but if they do, you just tip it back up,” he said.

Not all destruction or removal has been malicious. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities crews can remove signs placed illegally. ADT&PF Director of Communications Jessica Bowers said in an email workers place an emphasis on signs that pose a safety or operational risk.

“Signs that obstruct visibility, interfere with sight distance, restrict the safe movement of motorists, cyclists or pedestrians, or otherwise present a hazard receive the highest priority, particularly near intersections, driveways, sidewalks and pathways,” she wrote.

Some signs fell victim to DOT&PF brush hog road crews clearing ditches, including a Dan S. Sullivan for U.S. Senate sign chewed in half on West Hill Road. Another group of nearby signs got shredded beyond recognition.

Illegal signs removed get taken to nearby facilities and can be recovered from DOT&PF. Bowers said because of staff priorities and time, not every unauthorized sign can be addressed. A sign remaining in place doesn’t mean it has been determined to be legal.

“DOT&PF applies these requirements regardless of the content or message displayed on a sign. Crews act on where a sign sits and the risk it presents, not on what it says,” she wrote.

Alaska has strict laws against billboards and prohibits signs other than at a place of business and not in the right-of-way. A 2018 court ruling allowed temporary campaign signs during the election season no larger than 32-square-feet on private property and not in the right-of-way. DOT&PF has more information on its website regarding political signs.

Seaton said the large signs have been placed by Progressive-Moderate volunteers with the permission of the landowner. Smaller signs are given to supporters to place on their own property. He said he wanted to make sure people have the right to free speech no matter their opinion or the candidate they support.

“You know, it’s great when the community can get along and disagree, but not be disagreeable,” he said.